Denver Nuggets forward Shelden Williams (23) takes a shot against the Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler, left, and forward Caron Butler during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010.

DALLAS — The problem with dismissing the early-season contests against the Dallas Mavericks is now there have been two of them. And the Nuggets had to face Dallas the second time this season on enemy turf and with zero days of rest.

So, they did what had to be done. They won.

Back-to-back games and a 4 a.m. Saturday morning bedtime proved obstacles the Nuggets were surprisingly easily able to overcome. They answered Dallas’ win in Denver on Wednesday with a 103-92 win of their own on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center.

“We owed them,” Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups said. “We felt like we let one go at home the other day to these guys.”

It was an early-season statement powered by hustle, defense, poise and Carmelo Anthony.

If there can be important NBA games in November, this one qualified. The Nuggets and Mavericks usually take playoff seeding to the wire, so keeping a grip on potentially grabbing a tiebreaker is vital.

“That was our No. 1 talking point when we came here,” Anthony said. “Tiebreakers at the end of the season; I’ve been dealing with that for six, seven years now. So we know how important that is.”

Anthony was huge. He finished with 27 points, buoyed by a big third quarter. And then he got plenty of help in the fourth quarter, when the Nuggets built a 13-point lead and held on for the victory. They used 16 steals to help force a total of 21 turnovers and held Dallas to 13 points in the fourth quarter.

“I just wanted to get all of the loose balls,” said J.R. Smith, who had five steals. “Coaches have really been on us about that. Long rebounds and loose balls — coming up with them is huge for us.”

Denver built a 10-point lead in the second quarter, but the Mavericks chopped it to one by halftime. Jason Terry kept the Mavericks in the game by knocking down almost every shot he took. Normally one of the league’s top reserves, Terry nailed 9-of-10 shots in the first half to lead all scorers with 23 points and force the Nuggets to come up with answers on how to slow him down. And they did. Terry was just 1-of-7 in the second half.

“We tightened up the screws a little bit, made a few adjustments on him,” Billups said. “There were a couple of shots he had wide open that he just missed, but I think that’s because we didn’t let him get into a rhythm.”

As for Dallas’ zone defense, which was beginning to take on fabled status in terms of how it was used to stymie the Nuggets in the first matchup, it wasn’t much of a factor. The Mavericks went to it in the second quarter, but the Nuggets moved the ball with precision, took high-percentage shots and basically executed Dallas out of the zone.

Al Harrington displayed the complementary scoring and rebounding that made him a free agent coveted by both the Nuggets and Mavericks. He chose Denver and has been a thorn in the Mavericks’ side through the first two matchups, averaging 15.5 points. He had 14 Saturday night.

The Nuggets got solid performances all around. Smith was solid, and Billups chipped in 18 points as well.

“It was a good pride win,” coach George Karl said. “Guys bounced back, found the energy, found the pride to come back against a really good team that beat us a couple nights ago.”

Nuggets Recap

What you might have missed

With Chauncey Billups, Arron Afflalo and Carmelo Anthony picking up technical fouls, Nuggets players now have seven technicals this season. Billups and Anthony lead the team with two each. . . . Gary Forbes started but played just seven minutes in the first half. . . . At 10:19 of the fourth, Ty Lawson made his first 3-pointer of the season. He had been 0-for-9.

Final thought

This was a very important victory in what is normally not an important NBA month.

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.

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